Effective University Leadership and Management of Learning and Teaching in a Widening Participation Context: Findings from two national Australian studies

Abstract

The paper argues for the need to increase student participation in university governance, especially in relation to high‐level decision‐making concerning the aims and mission of tertiary institutions. The paper examines the arguments in favour of, and against, student participation in university governance. It also provides an overview of the findings of recent empirical studies on the topic. The need for a process of negotiation in the setting of higher education aims is emphasised and several suggestions are offered regarding ways of increasing student involvement in the aims‐setting process.     

Mentorship Efforts to Support Part-time Social Work Faculty Members

Social work faculty experience increasing demands to develop and maintain a research portfolio that includes external funding and publications. Given the increase in research expectations, more part-time instructors are needed to teach courses. In addition to the literature review, we briefly describe a pilot part-time faculty mentorship project developed by our school to build a strong, connected, and consistent part-time faculty team. However, we also wanted to examine mentorship programs at other schools/departments of social work; as a result, we conducted an exploratory research study with social work deans and directors nationwide. Findings suggested that while schools of social work are more likely to employ greater numbers of faculty overall, departments tend to have higher teaching expectations for full-time tenure-track faculty. Despite variability among responses, most schools and departments provide some form of support to part-time faculty members; a lack of resources was given as the primary reason for limited mentorship activities.     

Assessing mentoring in organizations: an evaluation of commercial mentoring instruments

The purpose of this article is to inform readers about the types of instruments available for assessing and improving mentoring in organizations. Extensive review of the psychological, business and medical literature was conducted to identify commercially published, practitioner‐oriented instruments. All of the instruments that were identified – including the Alleman mentoring activities questionnaire, Mentoring in the moment, Mentoring skills assessment, and Principles of adult mentoring scale – are evaluated herein. Each instrument’s target audience, raters, subscales, response options, psychometric properties, and relative strengths and weaknesses are described. Although these instruments are reported to be used extensively, evidence of their validity is not always available. This review presents information that, in combination with first‐hand inspection of the instruments, should enable practitioners to differentiate between instruments that may be a fit for their needs from those that are not. Furthermore, it may introduce academic readers to instruments that are not covered in the scholarly literature in spite of their common use for non‐research purposes.     

An ethic of care and educational practice

Abstract

This article explicates the theoretical framework of an ethic of care and outlines recommendations for applying the framework to practice in adventure education, offering possibilities for re-imagining organizations as centrally concerned with compassion and care. Focusing on the work of Gilligan and Noddings, we suggest an understanding of an ethic of care that is contextual, ungendered, and inclusive of both the private and public spheres of life, and draw parallels between this ethic and the philosophies underlying Outward Bound specifically, and adventure education more generally. Finally, we outline possibilities for organizing educational curricula around centres of care for self, others, and the natural world, using Noddings' suggested curricular components of modeling, dialogue, practice, and confirmation.     

In-Course Instructor-Guided Service Learning in a Community College General Psychology Class

Institutional and student level data from the Florida Community Colleges were examined to explore the Retention Index of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). A simple correlation and regression analysis was conducted to determine if the CCSSE Retention Index could be used to predict the institutional retention rate calculated for the state accountability measure. Student level data were used with a nested ANOVA to examine if there were mean differences in the CCSSE Retention Index scores of males and females of different racial groups when accounting for the potential influence of the institution attended. Mean differences were examined since differences in retention rates of these groups have been documented.     

Looking Far And Looking Near: Student Insights On History,Language, And Power

ABSTRACT

Three community college students participated in a collaborative student/professor research project to experiment with new ideas in teaching. Under the direction of the instructor, the students studied the South African riots in Soweto, 1976, and how issues of language and power were connected to this event. This investigative process began with video information to introduce students to the key issues, and was then followed by student research and discussion. The students, who were particularly motivated to understand the conflict by relating it to their own linguistic circumstances, worked individually and together to find articles and video sources to support their personal interests and ideas. By reflecting on their experiences and perceptions about language and communication, students were able to become engaged in an unfamiliar historical topic, discover relevant academic information, evaluate sources, and formulate insightful responses.     

Framing Quality: Annotated Video-Based Portfolios of Classroom Practice by Pre-service Teachers

In this paper we describe the use of peer learning teams creating annotated video-based portfolios to improve the quality of teacher–child interactions of undergraduate majors in early childhood and family studies. We used the intentional teaching framework (Hamre et al. in Handbook of early education. Guilford Publications, New York, 2012a) to create a course that moved students through the process of “knowing,” “seeing,” “doing,” and “reflecting & improving.” Forty-four undergraduate early childhood students formed eleven peer learning teams of four. We started the course by teaching the teacher–child interaction skills that are considered to be high-quality and linked to positive child outcomes (knowing). After learning to reliably identify (seeing) high quality instruction using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, the students created video portfolios featuring their own adult-child interactions (doing). These portfolios, featuring short salient examples of six different dimensions of quality instruction, were posted to a website and shared with their peer learning team. Each team member then commented on the extent to which she or he believed the students’ example was high quality. The portfolios and the peer coaching learning team (PCLT) process have improved our ability to document change in interactions as well as the students’ abilities to see their own growth (reflecting & improving). Further, it allows us to tighten the connection between course content and practical application as well as providing us with an alternative to on-site supervision of practicum students, which can be challenging due to budget constraints. Finally, we hope that sharing this activity will encourage others to integrate video-based technology into their coursework as a means to demonstrate positive change in students’ learning.     

Learning Partnerships in Practice: Orientation,Leadership, and Residence Life

Committed to improving how their various programs serve student learning, Taran Cardone, Elizabeth Stoll Turton, Gerald Olson, and Marcia Baxter Magolda describe how their participation in Miami University's Community of Practice on Engaged Learning (COPEL) helped them create developmentally appropriate, learning‐centered approaches that support the complex task of student self‐authorship.     

The context of their lives

Abstract

This paper explores the Ecology of Human Development Model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) as applied to the lives of students enrolled in the Early Childhood Education program at James Madison University (Virginia). This model provided insights into who our students are, their experiences, beliefs and values and how they define themselves; secondly, the process of reflection provided an opportunity for students to examine their lives as part of a larger social context; and thirdly, by valuing the process, it is hoped that students would recognize the importance of coming to know the children they teach. It is imperative that students are well prepared for teaching an increasingly diverse population (NCATE Standard I.E.2). Our belief is that in order for prospective teachers to appreciate diversity in classrooms, they need first to examine the context of their own lives. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.